On the Campaign Trail With Bawumia; Observations From A Patriot With Journalistic Lens

Michael Ofosu-Afriyie, Ashanti Regional Editor for the Ghanaian Observer Newspaper

As a professional journalist with over 16 years experience in political reporting, i decided to pen down my time with the flag-bearer of the NPP, Dr Mahamodu Bawumia whom i was privileged to be on tour with in the Ashanti region as he campaigned ahead of the December 7 elections in 2024.

Initially, i was unsure of following the flag-bearer and this was partly due to the speed convoys travel with but since i am the only reporter in Ashanti for my newspaper, i reluctantly accepted to do so having received a phone call from Gabriel Amoah, an assistant of a sort to Paul Yandoh, the substantive regional communications director.

The call was simple, that the Communications office wants me to join and provide coverage for Dr Bawumia as he toured Ashanti.

I must state here that i joined the team from the fourth day out of the 16 days the flag-bearer toured the Ashanti Region.

So alongside 14 other media houses the office had invited, we were conveyed in a 2M Express mini van throughout and I was seated in the company of persons i knew and referred to as colleagues even though all of them were juniors in the job compared to my time and experience as media practitioner.

It is also fair to state that the director of communication due to the high numbers of media houses in Ashanti was practicing what i term as a rotational system and this was to allow for all the media houses to have their turns and experience on Dr Bawumia’s campaign tour.

Complaints:

And on my first day, some colleagues who had been on the tour earlier, noticed that i carried nothing on myself apart from the bag i had which contained a note pad, a pen and a  bottle of water.

Laughing at me, about two of them mustered courage and advised that i either eat heavy in the mornings or carry some food along since they were being served late whiles following the then Vice President and flag-bearer of the NPP.

They also decided to mention to me the allowance they were getting which was GhC 400.00 in a day in addition to a GHC50.00 they were getting as transportation allowance to their homes anytime they closed for the day.

And as usual of our conversations in the car, my colleagues decided to narrate to me how well the opposition NDC Chairman, Johnson Asiedu Nketia was treating our other colleagues who had joined him on tour of same Ashanti region.

They claimed that the Chairman was giving the media persons three meals a day with snacks after lunch and some daily stipend of GhC500.00, an information friends confirmed to be true after my checks.

Having been armed with this information i braced myself for the tough ride ahead even though i must confess that i had been on such campaign trails with both Nana Akufo-Addo and John Mahama in 2016 and 2020 as well as previously in 2012.

Sad Reality:

So i psyched myself for the journey even though by experience i know  most politicians do not treat the media well especially on occasions like campaign tour.

As if i knew what would come up, we were practically starved many times and only saved ourselves by using our pocket monies to buy food at places where we found same.

This was despite seeing members of the Vice-President’s press corps from Accra getting preferential treatment including being fed fat and at regular intervals to our chagrin on the tour.

So after enduring this for the third day, we had Paul Yandoh, the Ashanti Regional Communications director come to us to remind some of us that our days were up, even though he had allowed some media houses to stay permanent on the tour.

Incidentally, the following day was the flag-bearer’s visit to the Asokwa constituency where i am very known for my work as media practitioner and resident as well as an NPP polling station executive.

And despite not been assigned to provide coverage on the day, i decided to attend since the first interaction was going to be held on the campus of my alma mater, Kumasi High School.

Whiles seated at the venue, the Ashanti Regional Women’s Organiser, Nana Ama Ampomah saw me and so she inquired with a text message why i did not join the media team at the DMB office where the media converged every morning.

 I replied that the Director of communication gave me three days on the tour and that my days were up.

She however insisted i should join the team and complete the tour with them and that she would inform Paul Yandoh about it.

This intervention, was something i found difficult to object to due to my respect and affection for the lady i call “Obataanpa pretty giant.”

Experience:

However, despite these unsettling issues which colleagues and myself found distasteful, i must say that i had a great time following Dr Bawumia, a man i fell in love due to the brainy ideas he espoused at wherever we toured during the campaign.

I saw in Dr Bawumia a man with a plan,  a man with a vision and one who could articulate same to the admiration of his critics and opponents.

Here, i want to put on record that i started my political life as both reporter and party person as an ardent fan of Alan Kyerematen and was known for that in the Asokwa constituency from 2007 to 2012.

Deception

Strangely, in the about 12 days i joined the tour I realised some inorganic stunts or deceptive escapades by some of the Ashanti Regional campaign team members.

I realised they were busing people to give the flag-bearer rousing welcomes during the tour and it became clearer to me when such actions failed at Akrofuom and Subin where those who were doing that apparently let their guns down and recorded abysmal numbers!

Why the campaign team was doing that remains mysterious to me but i realised that the flag-bearer fell for that and whether it was due to naivety or because he trusted his assigns to a falt i guess the December 7 elections brought out the true situation in the Ashanti Region!

Groups:

One remarkable observation i made during the rounds was also the groups that came to listen to Dr Bawumia.

Most in unison were professing love for  the flag-bearer afterwards.

However, just like some Pastors i know were articulating it appeared that the Christians amongst these groups were not sure of how a Muslim Presidency would be like.

Conclusion:

In my honest view, Dr Bawumia needs to work to assure Christians that he would be for them as he would be for the other faiths despite being a Muslim.

He also needs to work to imbibe in the population that one should cherish the competencies of people rather than placing premium on their tribes or the faiths they profess.

More To Come soon!

Source: Ghana/otecfmghana.com/Michael Ofosu-Afriyie,  Kumasi.